Police put brakes on Pope's Royal Mile motorcade route

PLANS for the Pope to travel the length of the Royal Mile during his visit to Edinburgh have been cancelled after the police raised concerns.

Now at least part of the pontiff's drive through the Capital has been switched to Princes Street, with talks under way to finalise the rest of the route which his motorcade will follow.

Pope Benedict XVI is due to fly into Edinburgh on the morning of 16 September at the start of his four-day official visit to the UK.

He will be driven from the airport to the Palace of Holyroodhouse to meet the Queen, First Minister Alex Salmond and other dignitaries.

The plan had been that he would then travel all the way up the Royal Mile in his bullet-proof "Popemobile" en route for lunch at the official residence of Cardinal Keith O'Brien in Morningside.

However, it is understood police raised concerns about the number of vehicles in the motorcade and how quickly they would be able to leave the Royal Mile if there were any problems.

One option being considered is to re-route the 83-year-old pontiff via Abbeyhill and Regent Road on to Princes Street. The motorcade would drive along Princes Street and turn up Lothian Road to Morningside.

But another plan could see the Pope driven part way up the Royal Mile and then down The Mound and along Princes Street to Lothian Road.

Organisers are understood to be quite happy with the idea of Pope Benedict's route taking in Princes Street because of its views of the Castle. They believe it will give the crowds maximum opportunity to see him.

Pupils from Catholic schools all over Scotland are expected to travel to Edinburgh to see the Pope in the Capital.

For an hour before the pontiff leaves the palace, there will be a procession along Princes Street involving pipe bands, school children and a pageant.

The St Ninian's Day parade – which will raise funds for a number of charities – will give a special place to children from schools named after St Ninian.

The pageant will be made up of characters dressed as historic figures from Scottish life.

After lunch at Cardinal O'Brien's, the Pope will travel to Glasgow to celebrate Mass in Bellahouston Park, where John Paul II said Mass in 1982.

More than 100,000 places are to be available through Catholic parishes, who will receive a pro-rata allocation based on their Mass attendance figures.

Cardinal O'Brien said he hoped everyone who wished to attend, whether or not they were practising Catholics, would do so.

He said: "A generation of Scots of all faiths fondly remember and benefited from the last such visit in 1982.

"As we commemorate the Feast of St Ninian who sowed the seeds of faith in our country, it is my hope that a new generation will be revitalised and strengthened in bearing witness to the message of the Gospels."

SIC: SCom